"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump kisses Ollie, who was rescued from a slaughterhouse in China in January. Vanderpump's new venture, the Vanderpump Dog Rescue Center, opened this year on West 3rd Street in Los Angeles. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times)

With its bright pink exterior and white picket fence, the Vanderpump Dog Rescue Center, one of entrepreneur and reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump's latest ventures, is hard to miss, especially if the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" costar and her husband's white Rolls-Royce is parked out front.

"It was a couple of years ago that we got involved in the pet business," said Vanderpump, 56, during a visit to the rescue center, which opened this year.

"Housewives" fans know Vanderpump, who also stars in Bravo TV's "Vanderpump Rules," and her husband, Ken Todd, are passionate about dogs. The couple and their venture partner, John Sessa, have been raising awareness for the canine kind through the Vanderpump Dog Foundation, which will have its second annual gala on Nov. 9.